On November 24, 2021 the Disney movie Encanto was released to theaters. The musical became an instant blockbuster hit, making over $250 million internationally, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and taking over the lives of families everywhere. While on the outside this movie seems like nothing more than another catchy, song filled Disney movie, this movie actually deals with the very sensitive topic of generational trauma.
Generational trauma, also known as intergenerational trauma, is the passing down of traumatic experiences or stressors from one generation to the next. And while this isn’t in any way a new concept, it is one that hasn’t been talked about publicly until recently. Before, it was just kind of accepted as something that is an unfortunate consequence of having children, that your own trauma is going to affect them no matter what you do. But it is also a very common experience among children of hispanic households, which is what is depicted in Encanto, which is set in 1950s Colombia.
In the movie, audiences follow the Madrigal family, a family of magical beings that were given a miracle after the death of Abuelo Pedro. Abuela, the matriarch of the family, is very protective of the miracle, which is contained within a candle. So when the miracle is threatened after Mirabel, one of the grandchildren, isn’t gifted a power, Abuela becomes very hostile towards Mirabel, treating her as if she was an outsider to the family. The movie begins with Mirabel singing about her family, calling them a constellation of stars that shine. But when asked about her gift, Mirabel becomes shy and ashamed, not wanting to say that she doesn’t have one. When it’s revealed, everyone, including the townspeople, call her not special.
And despite her attempts to make it seem like it doesn’t bother her, especially during the door ceremony of her youngest cousin, Antonio, it is clear that Mirabel feels unloved by the rest of her family. She especially feels this way with Abuela, pleading for her to open her eyes and see that Mirabel is trying her best. After the events of the movie, involving Mirabel trying to save the miracle, she discovers that she was not the only one feeling the pressure from Abuela to be the best. She confronts Abuela about this which turns into a massive argument between the two, which ultimately leads to the destruction of Casita, their magical home, and the candle.
It is only after the destruction of Casita where Abuela realizes the harm she had been causing to her family. In a moment of vulnerability, she admits to Mirabel that she was terrified of losing the miracle and losing a family member like she had lost Pedro. She admits that she had held on too tightly to the miracle and tells Mirabel that she now knows that Pedro didn’t give her a miracle, he gave her Mirabel. When Abuela and Mirabel reunite with the rest of the Madrigals, Abuela apologizes to everyone and together they rebuild Casita.
The one issue I have with how Encanto portrays generational trauma is that everyone is so quick to forgive Abuela at the end of the movie. I’m not saying that they couldn’t ever forgive her, but the fact that she is only apologizing for it once everything she had done was exposed to the rest of the family–forcing Isabella to marry Mariano, forcing Luisa to do all the heavy lifting for the town, telling Pepa that her emotions are bad, running Bruno out of the family, and so much more–made it seem like the movie was toning down the negative effects of generational trauma, especially when everything was solved by hugging it out in the end. When someone is abused via generational trauma, they are oftentimes told that they would be a horrible person if they cut out the abuser in their life, and that is harmful as well. People who decide to go no-contact with their abusive family members have been so hated on through social media and in real life, so for Disney to say that a hug fixes an entire life’s worth of trauma diminishes the work they do to bring attention to generational trauma.
For me, this movie tells a very necessary lesson that I feel like many people, especially children, need to know. And that is that you don’t need to be exceptionally special, magical, or need to compare yourself to others to be loved. Mirabel is so strong and wonderful but the fact that she doesn’t have powers makes everyone look past her intelligence and bravery. I hope that Encanto not only educates people in things that they have been blissfully unaware of, but I also hope it helps anyone in a situation like Mirabel’s see how amazing they are, no matter what society tells them.